Sunday, February 12, 2017

The
issue with mental illness and guns is so hard to explain to people.
While there have been mass shooters with mental illness, in very few
cases does the "mental illness" serve to explain what happened, and
statistically, you should be much more worried about being killed by
your spouse, the car next to you on the highway, that extra pain pill
you take (especially if you take it with a sleeping pill or a drink),
than you ever should be about a mentally ill mass shooter in a
public place. Where the numbers of gun deaths rise is when you mix
guns with substance abuse, especially in people prone to violence,
anger, and impulsive actions; suicide (where people sometimes take
action within minutes of making a now-irreversible decision); or
accidental deaths where people are careless (which may be higher in
people with cognitive problems or who are abusing substances).

I had an
editorial on a proposed repeal of a gun law this week, and the Chicago Tribune wrote on the same issue. Note their emphasis on mass shootings
(none of which pertained to this ruling as none of the shooters received
Social Security Disability Payments) and it didn't explain why someone would be on disability and
might need a payee. Mine was not about violence but about common sense.
Obviously I like mine better, but compare and see what you think, same
issue, different arguments:

Friday, February 10, 2017

I've been finding the world to be a frustrating place, and when I'm frustrated, I write. It could be worse. I've written a lot this week. First I'll send you to a commentary piece I wrote for the Wall Street Journal asking the Senate not to repeal a ruling that prohibits those who are both disabled by chronic, severe, mental illnesses and are unable to manage their finances (often because they are cognitively impaired or have poor judgement. I would not have concocted nor supported this original ruling under the Obama administration because I don't think mental illness and gun legislation mix, but given that it exists, it's a pretty low bar. But mostly, I hate that the NRA has the power that it does in our country and that tens of thousands of people die from firearms each year. See: Don't Repeal Obama's Modest Gun Limit. If you need to get around the paywall, try going through our Facebook page to the Link: https://www.facebook.com/shrinkrapbook/For a bit of a break, I reviewed Patrick Kennedy's wonderful memoir A Common Struggle, in the same article with the dark comedy Showtime TV series, Nurse Jackie -- an odd combination, but they are both about addiction. See Nurse Jackie and Patrick Kennedy.

And finally, I want to rant about using jails INSTEAD of medical facilities for psychiatric patients. I'm containing my outrage (or perhaps I'm not), but when we hear about correctional facilities being the biggest providers of psychiatric care in this country, we do assume that the people that are being housed there have either committed a crime or are suspected of committing one with pending charges. Read my short article on Psychology Today about own hospital in South Dakota now sends their overflow psychiatric patients to the local jail. These are not people who have committed any crime. In what alternate universe is this okay? So much for controlling my outrage.See: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/committed/201702/simple-solution-the-bed-shortage-unfortunately-jail

And while I'm ranting about this, please see Pete Earley's blogabout a man who stole $5 worth of candy then spent 101 days in jail waiting for a bed at a state hospital. His jail term ended when he starved to death his jail cell. We can do so much better.

Breaking Heroin’s Grip:

Road to Recovery

Airing Saturday, February 11 at 7pm

Told through the lens of adults that have
experienced heroin’s grip first-hand, viewers
will get an authentic look
inside the complexities
of this harrowing epidemic.

The program
includes a 40-minute documentary
followed by a 20-minute live phone bank
offering
viewers expert information about treatment. The
documentary is
produced by Maryland Public
Television in partnership with theMaryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The program will be simulcast by numerous broadcasters
(both TV and radio) in Maryland, as well as surrounding states.